Capodastro



(Nola/10ml.)`

H. DAHLMAN 8v LOMGREN.

UAPODA l No. 468,193. Patented Feb. ,2, 1892.

I Am

VUNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE. V l

HENRY DAHLMAN, OF CAMBRIDGE, AND THEODOR BLOMGREN, OF STANCHFIELD, MINNESOTA.

CAPODASTRO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters -latent No. 468,198, dated February 2,1892.

Application tiled June 26, 1891. Serial No. 397.590. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY DAHLMAN, of Cambridge, in the county of Isanti and State of Minnesota, and THEoDon BLOMGREN, of Stancheld, in the county oflsanti and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and Improved Oapodastro, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to stringed musical instruments, such as guitars, violins, dac.,

and its object is to provide a new and improved capodastro, which is simple and durable in construction, can be quickly and conveniently placed and locked in position, and serves to uniformly hold, quickly tighten, and shorten vthe vibrations of the several strings on the neck of the instrument whenever it is desired to raise the tone of the instrument to a higher key.

The invention consists of a cushioned plate adapted to extend across the strings on the neck of the instrument, a yoke pivotally connected with the said plate, a clamping-arm pivoted on the yoke and adapted to engage with its free end the under side of the neck, and a hand-lever for pressing the said arm into contact with the neck of the instrument.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be hereinafter described, and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part oi' this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the iigures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvement as applied, the strings and neck of the instrument being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a like view of the same with the clampingarm disengaged from the neck, and Fig. 3 is a plan View of the same.

`The improved capodastro is provided with a plate A, provided at its under side with a cushion B, adapted to engage the strings C of the instrument to press the said strings iirmly in place on top of the neck D in order to raise the tone of the instrument. The plate A extends transversely across the neck of the instrument and is formed at its middle with a' lug E, pivotally connected with a yoke F, preferably made U-shaped, so as to extend transversely on one side of vthe neck to reach with its lower arm under the neck, as plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

On the lower end of the yoke F is pivoted an arm G, formed on the top of its free end with a cushion H, adapted to engage the under side oi' the neck D opposite the plate A, as plainly shown in Fig.v l. The arm G is pivotally connected near its fulcrum with one end of a V-shaped spring I, connected with a hand-leverJ ,fulcrumed on thelower endof the arm F, which latter is considerably widened at its lower end to conveniently accommodate the pivots for the arm G and the lever J. When the lever J is in position, as shown in Fig. 2, the apm Gis swung downward, so that the capodastro can be easily placed with its cushioned plate A onto the strings of the neck D from one side.

In order to clamp the strings in place on the neck D, the operator takes hold of the lever .I and moves the same downward in the direction of the arrow a, so that the Vshaped spring I, connected with the said lever J, causes the arm G to swing upward and presses the cushioned end H firmly in contact with the under side of the neck D. When the le.- ver lJ has been swung into the position shown in Fig. 1, the cushioned plateA has firmly pressed the strings into contact with the top of the neck D, so that the tone of the instrument when played is raised according to the distance the capodastro has been placed on the neck between the head and the bridge ot' the instrument.

Y It will be seen by reference to Fig. 1 that the pivot-points of the spring I, the arm G, and lever .I are so arranged that the spring locks the lever J in position, the pivot-points of the spring and leverJ being a distance upward of the line extending from the fulerum of the lever J and the pivot connecting the spring I with the arm G. The yielding connection between the arm G and the lever .I serves to accommodate the cushioned plate A to the various-sized strings of the instrument, so that the several strings are forced with equal pressure onto the neck D, so that the said strings are equally tightened to produce tones of full and rich quality when theinstrument is played.

IOO

When it is desired to remove the capodastro from the neck of the instrument, the operator presses on the lever J until the pivot of the spring I on the said lever is below the line extendingbetween the fulcrum of the lever J and the pivot of the spring I on the arm G. The force of the spring I then completely opens the several parts without further assistance from the operator, the several parts swinging into the position shown in Fig. 2 to permit the operator to conveniently remove the capodastro from the neck of the instrument. The yielding connection between the lever J and the arm G also permits the use of the capodastro on instruments the necks of which vary in size.

Having thus fully described our invention, we claim as new and Ydesire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A capodastro comprising a cushioned plate adapted to extend across the strings on the neck of the instrument, a yoke pivotal-ly connected `with the said plate, a clampingarm pivoted on the yoke and adapted to engage with its free end the under side of the neck, a hand -lever fulcrumed on the said yoke and connected with the said arm, and a yielding` connection between the said lever and the said arm, substantially as shown and described.

2. A capodastro comprising a cushioned plate adapted to engage the strings on the neck of the instrument, a yoke pivotallyconnected with the said plate, an arm pivoted on the lower end of the said yoke and provided with a cushion adapted to engage the under side of the neck of the instrument, a V-shaped spring connected at one end with the said arm, and a lever fulcrumed on the lower end of the said yoke and connected with the other end of the said spring, substantiallyas shown and described.y

HENRY DAIILMAN. THEODOR BLOIWIGREN.

lVitnesses:

M. A. PETERSON, PETER JOHNSON. 

